I was thinking about this last night on my way home from work and wondered if anybody does this -

For those of us who live in smaller sized towns or just any kind of place that doesn't contain the kind of landscape/type of setting needed for a certain part in our films and we are on a low budget, would it be possible to have another film maker take some stock film for us to use in our films? For instance: say I live out in the country and need a "New York" type of shot?

Instead of flying me, my equipment and my crew to some place like that, it would be kind of cool to network with another indie living near a big city do that shot for you. What would be the problems/challenges with doing something like this? Does anyone do it already?

The reason I'm asking is because I need a shot of an office type setting with a bunch of cubicles with people working... there isn't a place like that here where I live. I would have to travel pretty far for a 4-5 second shot of that...

indietalk

07-13-2009, 04:19 AM

If you have a camera I recommend you get this yourself. You know what you need, and there are offices everywhere. If you have to travel a couple hours, well that's part of filmmaking. People go to the other side of the globe when they need it.

You could also hire someone from here to get it for you. You could credit them as a Second Unit DP.

As far as stock footage of something you could get yourself, yes, it does exists, but it's mostly for TV commercials, not indie films.

a_sower

07-13-2009, 10:55 AM

Yes, I can see your point. Trying to explain the exact look you are going for and all that would be very difficult.

citychik

07-20-2009, 12:18 AM

I need a shot of an office type setting with a bunch of cubicles with people working... there isn't a place like that here where I live. I would have to travel pretty far for a 4-5 second shot of that...
Is there a church in your community? Every church has an office. Do you have a community college or university nearby? Gas stations can have offices, small businesses such as realtors, insurance brokers, even retailers and hair salons could have an office in the back of their shops you can dress up. Some restaurants can be made to look like offices with the right set dressing. Rethink your script -- maybe you don't need so many cubicles. Maybe all you really need is a desk and a phone. Start asking around in your community and see if anyone's willing to donate their space. It may very well be that someone who lives down your block has a home office. Stick a few card tables in your garage, add some room dividers you can easily make yourself, and borrow some chairs -- voila! An office. Get creative!

a_sower

07-20-2009, 02:36 AM

Thanks CityChik for the reply. I actually found an business willing to let me use their offices for my shoot. I redid my script a little to adjust for the shot because the office is smaller than I had pictured in my head when writing the script, but it should all work out just fine.

You have some great suggestions there though, thanks again.

citychik

07-20-2009, 04:22 PM

Thanks CityChik for the reply. I actually found an business willing to let me use their offices for my shoot. I redid my script a little to adjust for the shot because the office is smaller than I had pictured in my head when writing the script, but it should all work out just fine.

You have some great suggestions there though, thanks again.
Glad it worked out! Just curious -- what kind of business is it? Did you shoot already? If not yet, make sure you get at least 60 secs of room tone when you do.

a_sower

07-20-2009, 10:55 PM

It's actually an industrial business with about 4 cubicles lined up in a row (which is perfect for me). I don't need sound for it, but thank you for the reminder. :)

I'm going to build some kind of cable-cam type of thing to just shoot straight down and run across the cubicles. I just want to take the viewer from one cubicle to the next. Continuity. It's even going to be sped up in post with some vdvdvdvd... (hahaha, that is suppose to sound like a recording being rewinded or something...)

That's why I was saying it would be easy money for an indie somewhere close to an office that could do it a lot easier than I will be able to. But now I can't wait to try it.